Hamilton!

 I've seen Hamilton 5 times now and it gets better each time. The more ya know the more ya appreciate the entire story. The Lin Manuel Miranda phenomenon may have faded a bit but the packed house in Omaha last night didn't seem to notice. Yeah, it's a decade old now and tours constantly while still being a Broadway staple but goddamit I'll wait for it every time it comes around.

The packed house was full of younger people fresh from whatever schools they attend. And the electricity began immediately. From the opening notes of Alexander Hamilton, they cheered loudly. They cheered loudly when the song ended. They cheered loudly for the remainder of the 2 1/2-hour spectacle.

We all know the story. Hamilton the son of a whore, comes to New York to do something with his life, which he treats like a burden that will end sooner than later. He becomes a lawyer, meets Aaron Burr, joins the revolution to kick the Brits out, marries Eliza Schuyler, becomes an absent Dad, has an affair, has his career ruined, loses his son in a duel defending his father's honor, and subsequently is killed in a duel himself that seems more like suicide than honor. Thats the story.

The musical itself is epic in its songs, its youthful exuberance and its performances. In the current touring company, there are no weak performances. The big voice needed from Angelica (Lauren Mariasoosay) is there and the big voice needed from George Washington (A D Weaver) is there. Both received huge applause.

Hamilton is played by Tyler Fauntleroy, who has the moves and the look to make it work. Marja Harmon is Eliza and plays Hamilton's long-suffering wife with grace and sadness. Aaron Burr is played by Jimmy JJ Jeter as the milquetoast politician without a principle he wishes to put forth. The feud between Hamilton and Burr is real. One stands for nothing, and one can't stop standing for everything. The inevitable end is apparent from the get-go. All these actors are first rate.

Now for the characters that never stop entertaining. Jared Howelton plays the dual role of Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, and he does both justice and more. Howelton plays Lafayette with vigor but when he becomes Jefferson in Act 2 and descends down those stairs milking the crowd the play takes a turn for the better. Howelton has a rubber face and a great voice. His facial expressions and Prince like 'tude make the story. He hates Hamilton because he represents his main rival. The gloating of Jefferson as Hamiltons scandal comes forth is prized comedy. He aint never gonna become President. He is phenomenal.

King George, the comic relief that Lin Manuel Maranda brilliantly put in the musical at perfectly appropriate times, is played by Justin Matthew Sargent. He glides onto the stage like he's floating on air and delivers the 3 songs everyone loves. He adds comic relief when he steps up on his tippy toes to appear taller than the woman informing him about John Adams. He makes the King his own character. It's brilliant.

The sound at the Orpheum still leaves a lot to be desired. It seemed like Act 2 made the sound worse. The orchestra sometimes drowned out the lyrics which could confuse people not familiar with what's happening. But if you are a Hamilton veteran, it doesn't matter, you know exactly what's happening.

Sorry but I am a fanboy. It never gets old. If I could, I'd see it again tonight. But if you want to experience a 10-year-old phenomenon, take it. Highly entertaining and informative. Thats how you teach America it's history.

Cuz ya know "immigrants we get the job done". The line never fails to hit hard. In this day of anti DEI and anti-immigrant prejudice, the fact a play with mostly black and Latino folk still draws huge crowds makes it hopeful that this asshole America will end. Soon please.

Did You Hear That Joe Was Old?

 Did ya hear the "bombshell " news? Joe Biden is old. He was old in 2024. Did y'all know that?

Jake Tapper, CNN's guy that both sides hate, has a new book coming out called Original Sin in which Tapper and his coauthor, Alex Thompson, Axios's guy that both sides hate, tell us that Joe Biden was old. Yeah, no shit. Did I want him to run again? Nope. When he decided to run did I throw a tantrum? Nope. When he dropped out after shitting the bed on national television during that debate did I despair? Nope. When Kamala Harris lost did I despair? You are goddamned right I did.

Tapper can write whatever he wants. He can sell books galore by stating the obvious, But the excerpts that have been released are misleading. Sure, the public was bombarded with daily reports that Biden was too old. The guy walked funny (probably because he busted his foot in 2020 and didn't wear the boot long enough), he spoke in an old man whisper, and quite frankly he was the perfect foil for the other old man who said stupid shit all the fucking time. In normal times, a presidential candidate stating "They're eating the dogs they're eating the cats" would have been laughed out of the race, but these are not normal times.

While Tapper has plenty of information in the last 100 days to report, ya know the Nazi crap and the outright bribery of a gutter thief, but he decided to rehash the past to write a book saying Biden was old. GASP! This is proof Tapper has no fucking idea of what's important. Joe Biden is old pales in comparison to Donald Trump is a fucking Nazi. But you go right ahead Jake. Tell the people the obvious. They will be fascinated to finally learn what they already knew.

The word BOMBSHELL has been plastered all over. The "bombshell" is that Old Joe Biden, had he won (which of course is ludicrous) might have needed a wheelchair. You know, like FDR and that prick from Texas. Oh, the horrors. But the real misleading part of the "Bombshell" is the whole wheelchair "scandal" was based on a what if. IF Joe Biden had tumbled off his bike again, like he did that once that became a MAGAt gif, and IF he hurt himself real bad, like IF he had busted a hip or a leg, he may have needed a wheelchair to get around for a while. And THAT was unacceptable to his blabby aides.

This stuff in this book is more like a novel. Biden was 82. Nobody is better at 82 than they were at 62. The mental decline happens to EVERYBODY. Including 78-year-old whackadoodles without a living brain cell in their noggin. I mean come on; the 78-year-old economic illiterate took a roaring economy and fucked it up in literal weeks. But Tapper would rather bring up that somebody somewhere said Biden didn't recognize George Clooney once. Shit I'm not sure I would either in a room full of celebrities. Theres a thing like too much perfect makes you blind. But Joe was old.

Chrissakes, we have a regime of Fox News nitwits, 1893 tariffs, rising prices, a gang of Gestapo running around throwing women with babies in their arms to the cement, planes crashing, air traffic controllers losing contact for 90 seconds at a time, a South African ketamine addict and a band of cargo shorted incels firing everybody who looks funny to them, drunks sending war plans to journalists and now a $400 million bribe from a terrorist funding country Trump hammered in 2017. 

But Biden was old.

Wow, I'm blown away by the information Jake.

Fascinating.

Hmmmm or Dohhhhh!

 Jesus H Christ it's all so exhausting. New Pope, 100 days of corruption, airplane bribes, ICE raids, Democrats arrested. Good lord

The New Pope. Pope Bob. Pope Leo XIV. American. White Sox fan. Despite initial reaction from the MAGAts on take that libs (assuming of course all Americans are assholes like them) now after being told by the right-wing media that the Pope is "woke" they are pissed. Well for crissakes, if the Pope aint "woke" who the hell is? The Pope defines "woke". Of course, to the neanderthals, "woke" means commie homo lovin gay feminists soy boys who dont accept white supremacy. Woke is actually tolerating the underrepresented, the minorities, the ones without a voice, the ones who need equality. Woke means educated. Willing to learn and change ones mind. The Pope is Pope Woke I whether you like it or not. Fuck Tedesco.

ICE, a gang of Proud Boys, Jan 6ers and the bottom of the barrel of law enforcement goons unable to secure legitimate police department employment, have run out of criminals. The criminals are all in jail or have been deported by the prior administration. So now, to meet Botox Barbie Noem's quota system, have started arresting anybody who looks brown, black or has a funny accent. The clowns who constitute ICE in their cosplay body armor, big guns, masks and jeans (?) are raiding neighborhoods with brutal force. These short men, most of whom were shoved into lockers as high schoolers, now have the power denied them by nature. And dammit they will have their revenge on women, children and babies. The strategy of cowards. Crazy overreactions to a family of madres and ninos breaking the law by existing, serving white people, white corporations and white farmers. This is what ICE does. They are bullies and trash. The very thing they suffered in their past they have now become. You are what you hate.

The country of Quatar. The funder of Houthis, Hamas and various other terrorists has jumped into the corruption of Trump. Last week the Felon, or through his corrupt spawns of Satan, announced a $5.5 billion dollar golf course and resort in Quatar. Over the weekend, Quatar announced they were "donating" a $400 million dollar airplane to the United States which could be used as a bugged Air Force One and THEN once the gutter crook is out of office will be "donated" once again to the Trump Library Foundation. Never use library and Trump in the same sentence. How could any of this be legal? But our esteemed bribe taking nitwit Attorney General, Pam Blondi, says it's all legal and above board, much like her $25K "donation" she took to drop the fraudulent Trump University case. Oh ad by the way, Blondi's last job before being appointed AG, was a lobbyist for the country of, wait for it, Quatar. The absolute criminality is as obvious as Karoline Leavitt's nose job.

Finally, on Friday, Democratic lawmakers and the Mayor of Newark protested outside an ICE concentration camp   detention center, ICEhwhitz if you will. ICE opened the gates to the facility, let them step inside and then arrested the mayor for whatever they thought of at the time. Being a decent human being perhaps. Instead of saying oops sorry, the ICE thugs doubled down, threatening more Democrats with arrest. Meanwhile someplace somewhere, Stephen Miller is furiously masturbating to his picture of Heinrich Himmler. Miller, the Goebbels look alike, who also threatened a suspension of habeas corpus, the very cornerstone of American justice. Miller is 39-year-old vermin who suffers from a lifetime of rejection by both women and decent folks who don't throw trash on the ground to make work for janitors. Ya know, people who actually return shopping carts to the corral. Miller is a spineless little rat suddenly given power and he will exact his revenge. Ya know, like the ICE thugs.

Fuck this place.

Thoughts!

 Jesus Christ, now they're arresting judges, deporting America citizens, raiding night clubs, sticking mug shots on the White House lawn while a 34 times convicted felon runs the show, and inviting paid Russian propagandists to the White House press pool. Trumps ICE is a rogue police force that has no rules. Per AG and bribe taker, Pam Bondi, no warrant is needed to bust into houses. If they look thru your garbage and find taco seasoning, I guess that's "probable cause" to these goons. It's madness. And it must be stopped. I guess if regulation of guns is a non-issue, let's let that 2nd Amendment fly its freak flag high. Reminder here, liberals own guns too. Tread lightly.

The Pope's funeral was Saturday and world leaders from all over were there to pay their respects. Our illustrious dementia stricken POTUS, The Felon, was there in his blue suit so he could stand out among the rest of the world who followed protocol and wore black. Trumpski sat there, next to Melania (I think it was her) and fell asleep, No he wasn't fucking praying Magats. That heathen has never prayed in his entire miserable life. Unless it was for underaged girls to shut up. After Zelensky received a round of applause, and Macron ignored his handshake and other world leaders shunned him for being the peasant he is, he pouted and immediately left so he could play golf with a sellout named Saquon Barkley. The dumb is astounding.

Pete Hegseth, drunk, is still there. Despite opening his war plans to any idiot on the internet because he's too lazy to go thru proper channels, or too loaded. This because nobody in this putrid regime accepts responsibility for anything. It's Bidens fault, or the borders' fault or the liberal media or blah blah. Kristi Noem had her fucking passport and $3K in cash stolen. Of course, it was an illegal. Yeah sure it was wink wink. This cabinet is full of liars, cheats, drunks and divas. 

Finally, Trumps approval rating are in the toilet. 39% after 99 days of chaos. Who the hell are these 39%? It is amazing that 10 years ago only 25% of anything was fucking nuts. Now its 39%. But Trump knows all bad news is fake. All facts are lies. All science is junk. All elections are rigged (unless they win). All morals are suggestions. All immigrants are illegal. All brown people are illegal. All black people are cheats. All women are deranged. All Asians are sneaky. It's like Archie Fucking Bunker got elected. Remember him? We used to laught at his antics and racism. Apparently, too many people thought it was a documentary on "America Foist". 

Geez.

Bill Maher!

 Look, I used to watch Bill Maher on Politically Incorrect way back and I didn't care for the guy then. Not that he didn't make me think, he did, but he came across as an arrogant prick. Then he got cancelled, which I think affected him far more than he let on. So, he went to HBO and started a show called Real Time on Friday nights. His monologue is trash. He so obviously imitates Johnny Carson right down to the sideways glances and audience scolding. Then he talks to a news maker one on one which can be interesting, but Bill makes it all about him. Then the panel and depending on the week, it also can be interesting. He regularly invites conservatives and liberals and then came 2016. The panel began to contain nutjobs like Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon types. These people are bomb throwers, not conservatives, thus you get nothing out of it. Then came 2020. Biden won, and Maher went all I gotta hate whatever is in power. He slammed liberals. some of it justified, but some of it was pure hey look at me, I'm a free spirit. I am so fair. You're out of touch not me. His happiest day may have been when Kamala lost. Even though he had predicted her to win, he couldn't wait for the I told you so. It's almost like never mind what I said then, what I say now is all that counts. I am never wrong, just flexible. WHO does that sound like?

Bill Maher spoke to Kid Rock on his show and Bob invited him to the White House for Dinner With Donald. Maher, ever the publicity hound, said sure. We just HAVE to talk with the other side. Bill is so fair. Then he went to dinner with 4 meatheads. Trump, UFC lunkhead Dana White, the aforementioned Kid Rock, fave of rockin meth heads everywhere and Trump himself, the ultimate lame brain. Bill posed for pictures, bragged that he wore a suit, and clinked wine glasses with the Bonehead Brain Trust.

Bill came home, kept the trip details under wraps, and then spilled the beans on his show. Trump laughed, he was cordial, he listened, he was funny and nice, and it all went well. Then Bill shrugged and said in his oh so typical smarmy way, Hey he was nice to me so therefore he must be an ok guy.

The reaction is furious. He is being slammed by not only libs, but by normal Republicans not under the spell. He got called out by a panelist for allowing himself to be used as a prop and the thin skinned Maher got personal, because, like Trump, he is never ever wrong. Maher doubled down and insisted Trump was personable, at least to me. And it continues. Maher will not back down with the Trump's a nice guy shit. He's killing himself and I've got popcorn.

Larry David hit the kill shot on Maher over the weekend. An opinion piece in the New York Times titled My Dinner With Adolf. A fictional meeting with Hitler in 1939, in which Larry met Hitler, who was personable and funny and made jokes about Goering. A real cool guy that Hitler. And then Larry left and fired off the Nazi salute he was so taken with Adolf. 

Larry David is everyman. He is self-deprecating and not afraid to make himself the bad guy, and Curb was perhaps the funniest show ever, But Maher just keeps up the arrogance and the condescending attitude and the I'm better than you persona.

Larry lives in the real world. Maher lives in a world in which he is King of Comedy. He sits on an imaginary throne and he aint gettin off.

So, Maher and Trump are the same guy. Thin skinned, never wrong, thinks he knows best and fuck you if you disagree.

The problem is Trump was elected by 77 million idiots. Maher is elected by nobody and is subject to ratings. I have a feeling those ratings are about to go the way of the Dow Jones. Crash and burn.

The Pope!

 I retired from Catholicism years ago. Probably around 1968 or so I stopped paying attention, stopped going to communion, stopped going to confession and stopped going to Mass, at least mentally. The whole thing seemed cult like with costumed humans pretending to know the answers (tho whenever I asked a question the answer was shut up). I suffered thru Catholic school for 12 years and once out I vowed to never return. I have returned for funerals and weddings but that was for the people involved. But being a "cultural Catholic" will never leave me. Living in the Midwest, Catholicism is often just an extension of conservative politics. It is foreign to me. The teachings of Jesus are ignored in order to preserve the white privilege and to whip yourself into a frenzy over somebody else's choice you don't like. The poor are there by choice, the homeless are also, racism is bad but what can I do about it, sexual abuse in the church is to be ignored and the American hierarchy must be MAGA.

But this Pope. This guy, Pope Francis, made me more of a cultural Catholic than ever before. The Pope was a positive force in the world. He didn't condemn anyone. He preached love and fairness and climate change and welcoming immigrants and just be kind. For that, we have resistance from conservative Catholics (an oxymoron if there ever was one) and online today pieces of shit like Marjorie Taylor Greene openly celebrating the demise of "evil". 

I loved the Pope. He was exactly what I always believed what a Pope should be. A decent man doing the Lord's work. Rich people don't need a Pope sticking up for them. The poor and the sick do need a voice. Pope Francis was that voice. 

Now let's just hope the Conclave doesn't screw this up and install a "Tedesco" to the seat. In this day and age of asshole, fascist leadership all over the world, a Pope should be the one fighting them. 

So long Jorge Mario Bergoglio. You were the best.

The picture is to remind us that Popes have senses of humor as do Presidents. Senses of humor that do not involve punching down as we have become.

The world is a less kind place today.

50501 Rallies!

 Did it make me feel better? Yep! Did I feel I accomplished anything? Probably not but everything starts somewhere and I will be in on the ground floor of a revolution that topples fascism. Or I'm heading for the gulag. Whatever. Living in this country, at this time, with the cruelty and the lies and the number of total assholes who crawled out of the swamp doesn't really make me feel safe any longer. Oh, not from the so-called rampant crime and all those "illegals" that are murdering white women thousands of times a day, but from suit and tie wearing Nazis working hard to Make America White Again. This administration is unlike anything I've ever seen, and I am old. I've been thru Nixon and Reagan and the  Bush boys and as bad as that seemed, this is beyond belief. A reality show host, embraced by losers who need to place to blame on their loser status by blaming anyone unlike them. Immigrants, women, gays, trans, liberals, minorities or the intelligentsia. Whatever I don't like, is keeping me down. It's sad.

Yesterday all over the nation, people of all stripes, all ages, all genders, all believing that fascism, Naziism, revenge, and lack of due process are wrong, came out to wave signs and be together to not feel so alone. Red states, blue states, cities, rural towns (special shoutout to Rushville, Nebraska, as ruby red of an area as there is in this nation had 43 brave souls line the street to express themselves) all stood together for a couple of hours or so and said no more. Will it work? Again, everything starts somewhere.

Look, I am not afraid to live in a state that has elected some of the stupidest people on Earth year after year because despite 30 some years of GOP rule, the majority of the state is unwilling to change. Vote R no matter what. They raise your property taxes to outrageous levels, raise income taxes rates on everyday people while granting virtually any business tax breaks, and ban abortion, fuck around with this idiot bathroom shit, ban transgender treatment, and vote to give everybody breathing a fucking gun but you still vote for them. Political fear is not a reaction, its cowardice.

I got in trouble in high school for advocating the end of a war in Vietnam. Take off that black armband they said. Stop rabble rousing they said. We will make your life miserable unless you fall into line and stop with this anti Nixon shit. Let me put it this way, they succeeded in making my high school experience a miserable slog of daily abuse. I hate the place to this day.

I've stepped up against Reagan, against the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War, Trumps first fiasco and now, at my advanced age, against this current band of authoritarian pricks. I am too old to stop now.

So, did yesterday make me feel better? Fuck yeah it did. And if you think that this does no good, well you're just an apathetic dope, probably either a fascist yourself, rich enough to withstand economic collapse or so cynical you are beyond help, sitting in the easy chair cutting down anything you feel too beaten down to understand. Chrissakes, the rally in Omaha featured a long rambling speech by some local self-proclaimed "communist "who bathes in the limelight of pissing into the tent by hammering "white liberals" as worse than the KKK. So far off the edge, he's just another fascist.

In conclusion, I am selfish enough to enjoy feeling better and thinking it's good for MY mental health. If you don't, well continue to do nothing. And when they finally come for you, broke and mentally exhausted, there will be nobody to stand up for you.

Special shoutout yesterday to the assholes gunning their Harleys and disrupting speeches, flipping us off, and riding around without helmets (Cmon organ donors!). You clowns give the bike riding community a bad name. It was so precious to watch the little boys having fun.

Foxtrot Delta Tango my friends. Forever.

100 Days?

 I thought I'd give him 100 days to fuck everything up and then comment. But he's much better at fucking shit up than even I thought. Ugh. 

Some Like It Hot!

 You've seen the movie, right? That 1959 Billy Wilder classic was bold for its time with the cross dressing and mature themes but basically, it's a farce, slapstick type of film.

The musical based on the movie opened in Omaha last night to a pretty packed house. It's a bit updated to go even further than the movie in its themes but forget all that, It's 2025 and gay, transgender and drag are in the mainstream despite what the MAGAts and its rather vocal minority are trying to do.

The story is as follows. Two song and dance men in 1933, Joe and Jerry, are hustling for gigs and stumble upon a mob murder. They need to go on the run to avoid being killed. They come up with the idea to join an all-girl jazz band by dressing as dames and touring the country until they reach San Diego where they will cross the border. Will Spats, the mob boss, find them before that? Will Joe continue to Gilligan every situation? Will Jerry ever get tired of being a woman?

This musical has some great songs. It is also without a doubt the wildest musical I have ever seen. There are so many things going on at once onstage it's sometimes hard to keep track of. But this crazy old-fashioned type of musical (despite the updated views on many themes) is just such a throwback to what entertained people for centuries. You cannot not like actors who can sing and dance and create such a frenzy onstage that it exhausts you too. The last 10 minutes of this nuttiness is absolutely brilliant. There is a chase scene involving a kind of musical doors atmosphere in which the actors are going in and out of doors, singing, dancing and making the crowd laugh while at the same time being amazed at the energy. Yeah, as I said, it exhausted me too. It was wild to see this slapstick/tap dancing/singing craziness going on all at once. The rehearsal involved must be flawless and it paid off onstage.

Now the performers. Matt Loehr is Joe, a combination sax player and con artist. Loehr is fantastic. Once he becomes "Josephine" in women's clothing he also becomes Dana Carvey as church lady. I challenge anyone to not be waiting for him to exclaim "well isn't that special".

Tavis Kordell is Jerry the bass player. He's kind of a follower who lets Joe get them in trouble time after time. But once he becomes Daphne, the tall drink of water, he becomes the leader. Realizing who he really is, this character is truly the interesting one as he becomes himself. Kordell is just a force onstage with his dancing and singing. He will be one to watch for. Also think of Mrs. Howard on Abbott Elementary.

Leandra Ellis-Gaston is Sugar, the singer in the band, She is bound and determined to become a star. Joe falls in love (as Josephine) with her and has to keep up the charade of being Josephine and Kip, the German "screenwriter" who will take her to the top. Gaston is good but for some reason she didn't connect with me as a character. But this woman can sing!

Now for Tarra Connor Jones as Sweet Sue, the leader of the band. Sweet Sue is a bad ass. Sue cannot believe what is happening to her band. Jones can act with her face. Keeping an eye on her for her priceless facial reactions is comedy gold. Plus, she gets lots of sassy lines and had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

Some Like It Hot is wild. It's maybe the best show of the 2024-2025 season. Boredom will not be a problem as there really are no speed bumps. 

Obviously. I recommend this musical highly. It's not heavy at all. It's comedy at its core and it succeeds.

Bravo!  

Hadestown!

 The first time we saw Hadestown from up in the rafters, I was blown away by the story, the music, and the performances. It was so New Orleans, it was so Greek tragedy, and it was so damned good.

Hadestown came back last night and this time we were on the floor which makes it even better to actually see the performers faces and the knowing glances between characters. 

Hadestown is about well, Hades. Sell your soul to the devil and suffer the consequences. Hades is played by the deep bass voice of Nickolaus Colon, who really doesn't enter the play until the end of Act 1 but once he does its game on. His wife, Persephone, played by an understudy Miriam Naverette, spends 6 months in the overworld and 6 months in the underworld. Eurydice, a homeless poverty-stricken woman who is duped into entering hell. Played by a wonderful Megan Colton, Eurydice has a hero up above in Orpheus, a songwriter in love with her attempting to finish a song that will free her from Hades clutches. Orpheus, played by a great singer, Bryan Munar, walks to the underground and thru the wall to free Eurydice. Will he succeed? Well, it's a tragedy so you guess. He succeeds yes, but he also fails.

The narrator of this play is Hermes, played by Jaylon Crump, and he is the glue. From the opening where he plays with the crowd, the other performers and the musicians onstage, Crump is a joy to watch. He belts out the Road To Hell and gets this thing rolling and it just keeps rolling towards its inevitable tragic end. Crump is a force onstage. And he's a helluva singer, actor and dancer.

I loved this version. Hadestown is in my Top 5 musicals of all time. The song that ends Act 1 is a dirge called Why We Build The Wall, and is so relevant to today's atmosphere its uncanny for a musical written in 2006. It's as if the writers anticipated the arrival of MAGA.

If you get a chance, see Hadestown. It's one helluva ride.,

Oscar Time!

 Oscar time! The annual event where costume designers and animated short winners carry on for so long that you wish you could fast forward in real time. But alas, we must put up with bad skits, bad songs, bad jokes and perhaps a Trump tweet. I cannot not watch, it's in my DNA. Ever since I first saw an Oscar telecast as a child, it got me. This year's will also get me. Now onward to my Top Ten Movies of 2024

10) One of Them Days

Kiki Palmer and SZA go thru a day of dodging landlords, going to Church's Chicken and trying to raise the rent money SZA's boy toy blew. It's funny, it's sad and it's a pretty good time.

9) My Old Ass

Aubrey Plaza comes from the future to warn her younger self of the mistakes she shouldn't make. Maisy Stella shines as the 18 year old Elliott, high on an acid trip, and visited by her "old ass" self (Plaza). Meanwhile, 39 year old Elliott warns 18 year old Elliott to stay away from Chad, a perfectly nice kid. Why? He will break her heart. Why he breaks her heart in the future comes to light at the end. You might cry.

8) A Real Pain

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, Jewish cousins, take a road trip to visit their late grandmother's past in Poland. Eisenberg is the married nerd and Culkin is the sarcastic bullshit artist with deep seeded problems. Their journey ends at a Nazi death camp their granny survived. It's pretty powerful stuff. 

7) Sept 5

The story of the ABC coverage of the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Black September. We see the sports division take over from news, the infighting, the horrible mistakes in the name of being first and the morality of all of it. It's a great journalism movie in the spirit of All The Presidents Men.

6) Conclave

If you're a victim or veteran of 12 years of Catholic school indoctrination this tale of choosing a new pope is in your wheelhouse. Ralph Fiennes as the de facto head of the conclave of cardinals who will pick the new Pope and John Lithgow as his protagonist shine. Stanley Tucci as the liberal American cardinal attempting to stop the conservatives from taking the church backwards is also great. The ending will surprise and I'm not sure about it even now.

5) Horizon An American Saga- Chapter One

This Kevin Costner western epic may have bombed at the box office but I found it fascinating, It may be a Costner ego trip but its well worth the time. Impressive cast, great story and not a boring moment.

4) Seed of the Sacred Fig

This tale of an Iranian family attempting to deal with freedom from the mullahs. The parents are steadfast in not rocking the boat. The daughters do nothing but rock the boat. This results in a missing gun, panic by the father and an inevitable showdown of past and future. You have to read but its worth the effort

3) Wicked

The play itself is a slog, but this movie is 2 1/2 hours of great storytelling and music. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo turn the Wizard of Oz on its head. The wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is a fascist, the Wicked Witch of the West is a freedom fighter, and the Good Witch is a coward. I cant wait for Part 2.

2) The Brutalist

3 hours and 30 minutes and an intermission. Who does that anymore? Director Brady Corbet does, thats who. The story of a visionary architect who survived the Holocaust, moved to America and found himself. Not a dull moment. Working for Guy Pearce, a bigoted ass, can be a test of will but Adrian Brody survives that too. The ending where you find out his Architectual philosophy is kind of jarring but makes sense.

1) I'm Still Here

This Brazilian film takes place in 1970 when a military coup has taken over. People disappear, are brutalized and one family especially feels it. Their father is taken away by police and never heard from again. The family proceeds thru the years, sticks together and attempts to find out what happened to him. Fernanda Torres keeps this thing alive at all times. She is a marvel. Let's hope Oscar notices.

There were other movies that were great

Number 24- Norwegian film about the takeover of Norway by Nazis

Lee-- Kate Winslet as war photographer Lee Miller, a woman who pays no attention to the sexist rules during WW2

A Complete Unknown-Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. He's great but the movie itself is no Lewyn Davis

Thelma-- don't fuck with Ruth Squibb. You rip off Ruth and she's coming after you on her scooter.

A Quiet Place Day One-- I didn't really care for the 2 Quiet Place films but this one, a sort of prequel, works as a love story more so than a thriller.

Blitz- Saoirse Ronan stars as a British woman avoiding the German blitz in 1940 with her child.

Origin--Ana Duverney's latest tackles the class system and institutional racism. Well worth the watch

Will and Harper-- the documentary with Will Farrell and Harper Steele, a former SNL writer who became a woman at the age of 60. They road trip across the country and encounter all sorts of sadness and joy. But what it all comes down to is once people meet an actual transgender, it's like meeting anybody. Unfortunately, the people who need to see this will not.

The worst movie of the year?

No doubt its M Night Shyamalan Trap. This waste of time is so horrible I would urge avoidance at all costs.

And avoid Babygirl as well, This Nicole Kidman embarrassment is ridiculous and just plain boring.

Lets go Conan!

Kimberly Akimbo!

 The Tony Award winning musical came to Omaha this week amid a snowy cold weather system that may have kept the crowd down. I expected nothing as much of what I read about this quirky musical was not good. What we got was really something.

Kimberly is a soon to turn 16-year-old with progeria and in a new school with no friends. Progeria ages people at 4-5 times the normal rate thus Kim is a 60 something looking woman trying to fit in. Kim is dealing with the disease, with terrible parents, a con artist aunt, and knowing she will die soon. It's a lot for a kid to deal with. She meets Seth, a kind kid who plays the tuba and works at the local skating rink. They become friends and also befriend a group of 4 show choir nerds, none of whom even know each other very well. Well, until Aunt Debra, a foul mouthed grifter who never misses the opportunity to make an ill-gotten dollar, sums them up to each other that made me laugh out loud.

Kim deals with school, a science experiment about her disease that she really didn't want to do, and her parents who are having another baby they want to "be perfect" unlike Kim, who they believe ruined their lives and are not shy about telling her. Aunt Debra gets her and the other teens into a check fraud scheme to make them money for show choir uniforms, and a road trip for Kim to see things she will probably never get to see.

The show has all the emotions. Laughter, sadness, pity, and disgust. Theres not a weak moment in it. The cast is wonderful. Carolee Carmello plays Kim and considering she's been nominated for 3 Tonys we are lucky to have her in the lead. Original Broadway cast member, Justin Cooley, returns as Kim's buddy Seth and he is perfect. Jim Hogan and Laura Woyasz as Kim's just awful parents also shine. It's not easy playing mean to a kid who will soon die. But Aunt Debra, played by Emily Koch, gets all the good lines and the most laughs. She swears like a sailor, never met a person she doesn't see as a potential mark and is really a piece of .....work. The teens who play the show choir nerds are also great at playing to type. 

All in all, this musical is just the weird type of show that will make you forget the world for a couple of hours. It's got catchy songs, and the lyrics are understandable with the great sound system they brought with them. It has a Dear Evan Hansen vibe but better.

I can't imagine the Broadway version is any better than this tour. Go, you'll be glad you did..

Collective Soul!

 

Need a palate cleanser from seeing a South African invader standing in the Oval Office with a child on his shoulders filibustering on his grift while the Felon sits at his desk with a goofy grin on his orange mug? Great me too.

Collective Soul was at the Steelhouse in Omaha last night for a show of hits and more hits. Collective Soul had more hits in the 90's than any other rock band and seeing them for the 5th time didn't disappoint. Ed Roland, lead singer, is in his 60's and still has it. His voice is great, his onstage banter is great, his crazy outfit was great, the band is still great, and the crowd of middle aged and boomer fans was great.

Starting with a couple of newer songs that still rocked, Collective Soul, led by Roland in a sort of mink coat, got the crowd right into it. Heavy, one of those hits from the 90's, really got them going. When the opening chords of Shine began, oh it was on now. The crowd sang along the chorus at the urging of Roland who wisely backed off and let the fans do the honor of doing the Yeah and the whoa, heaven let your light shine down. It was a great group effort.

The latter part of the show featured all the hits, December, The World I Know, Gel, She Said, Precious Declaration and of course Run which of course had a sing along from the masses.

Collective Soul is one of those bands that get better with age. The music is wonderful, and the wisdom of a 62 year old man, Ed Roland, shows during his stage stories. This show was postponed from last summer and Roland freely admitted it was because he had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop and needed 2 different ENT doctors to get it stopped. "At my age everything is 50/50 on making it or not". 

There was a tribute to Aerosmith, who gave them their big break by adding them to a tour in the 90's. A tribute to AC/DC with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Ed's first "import album".

This band tours constantly. I mean I've seen them 5 times now, but not for 20 years or so. Wanna forget the world for 90 minutes? Go see Collective Soul, it will make you feel young again.

Halftime Shows!

 Ok its about time I emerge from my cocoon. Politics was of no interest to me after Nov 5th. America chose a fascist liar and sexual predator and I accept that, Not gonna rush the Capitol, not gonna beat up cops, not gonna crap in Mike Johnson's wastebasket cuz you see we are adults. We may hate what happened but accept it and move on. Trump is a traitorous piece of shit, we know that, and we voted for Kamala Harris to stop him. It didn't work for whatever reason, eggs, woke, racism, sexism whatever you want to blame, feel free. Fact remains there's a madman in the Oval Office with all 3 branches of government in his corner and a Cabinet full of lunkheads he's seen on TV (Hegseth RFK Duffy) or ones he wants to fuck (Noem, Gabbard) or psychos willing to destroy the nation (Patel, Stefanik, Miller) in his name. But what can we do? Nothing. At least until 2024.

Did I like the Super Bowl halftime show? I'd be lying if I said yes. Kendrick Lamar is not for my demo. Old white men. My time is over. We aren't gonna see Paul McCartney or the Who or even Pearl Jam in what is left of my lifetime at the Super Bowl halftime. It's a whole new world. The young folks are running the show. And if they wanna see Kendrick Lamar or the Weeknd or even Beyonce that's the way it is. Old guys like me need to just live with it. We don't need to go ballistic and post every stupid thought we have on social media. Most of the outrage from Magas is, let's face it, racist at best and the Final Solution at worst. They want country. They want white people onstage. They want their orange hero to put out an EO mandating white people at halftime of the Super Bowl. 

Kendrick Lamar put it to Trump right in his face. Trump left rather than see Kenrick Lamar "insult" him. Then Trump tweeted out an old Democratic idea of eliminating pennies, trashed Taylor Swift and claimed she was booed because of Magats. Yeah, the fact she used to be an Eagles fan before Travis came along may have had something to do with the booing but why question the Felon? He's never wrong. 

Kendrick Lamar was fine. He didn't piss me off just as Dre and Mars and Katy Perry didn't. I simply don't care. If the entertainment doesn't interest me, so be it. If some idiotic decision to have Nugent or Kid Rock or Morgan Wallen perform at the next Super Bowl, ok then. I won't pay attention. But anger? Never.

"The revolution is about to be televised, You picked the right time but the wrong guy"

Goddamn right sir. That alone was worth it. 

MLK Jr Day!

`

This is his day. Nothing else. 

Seinfeld And Gaffigan!

 Who doesn't need a laugh the last weekend of democracy? Well, we do and off to the CHI Centre to see two comedy legends named Seinfeld and Gaffigan. Gaffigan a legend? Yes, dammit he is to us out here in the vast wasteland.

Ryan Hamilton opened the show with a short 15-minute set of funny stories and jokes about the cluelessness of the coasts. Its New York, Los Angeles and in between is the Midwest. Perfect humor for the audience of Midwesterners.

Jim Gaffigan was next. Ok, he's not the legend that Jerry is, but to Midwesterners he sure as hell is close. Gaffigan is a master storyteller, a walking Dad joke that's actually funny. His humor is family oriented, self-deprecating and just plain true. He hits a nerve with anyone with a family of teenagers, a spouse or parents. In other words, 90% of the world. Gaffigan is the everyman of comedy. Even though he seems like just a guy getting through life, he is a great writer of jokes and anecdotes. His story about a college reunion, looking in the mirror and seeing a feisty 20-year-old while his buddies are all old as hell had me in stitches. I love Jim Gaffigan's entire persona. We here in the sticks can identify with him as New Yorkers identify with Jerry.

Jerry Seinfeld came out next. I am a late bloomer to Jerry. I didn't watch Seinfeld in the 90's. I don't know why, maybe cuz on Thursday nights I was out gambling and drinking back then. But I knew people who loved it and couldn't wait to explain to me the whole show from beginning to end and because they weren't Jerry it failed miserably. I binged the entire series about 3 years ago and realized what I missed. Genius.

Seinfeld did an hour set of basically the same family type humor of Gaffigan, but from a New Yorkers perspective. Cynical, biting and hilarious. It was Seinfeld at his best, He hates everything, hates traveling, can't stand the society he lives in, but loves complaining about it all. And complain he did. Like Gaffigan, he's a very wealthy everyman from Queens. And it is possible to think the Midwestern perspective and the New York perspective are both valid and hilarious. 

It was a great 2 hours of fun, laughter and an escape from what's coming on Monday. Oh, humor won't die on Monday, but it's gonna take a dark turn. I can always remember this night of laughter. 

Thanks guys.

Clue!

Yes, it's a play based on a movie based on a board game we played as kids. No, it's not Shakespeare or Sondheim or even Sorkin, but what it is, is fast paced and funny. 

The play takes place in 1954 in DC, at the height of the McCarthy hearings. 6 people have been invited to party at the Boddy mansion, and they all show up solo. Yeah, put the brain in hold here and just enjoy.

We have Colonel Mustard, a dimwit. We have Mrs. White, a black widow with a history of dead husbands. We have Mrs. Peacock, wife of a Senator and prude. We have Mr. Green, a bureaucrat and gasp, a homosexual. We have Professor Plum, an arrogant ass. We have Miss Scarlet, a sharp-tongued escort. 

The "party" is run by a butler named Wadsworth who has all them there for a reason. Blackmail! All 6 characters have secrets, though Miss Scarlet loudly announces she did everything she's accused of and is incapable of being blackmailed. Bodies begin dropping. 6 in all. Whodunit?

The play is only 90 minutes long. It ends abruptly and I'm not sure anybody expected it because it was barely started, or so it seemed. The sets are amazing and change effortlessly whether it be the study or the lounge or the lobby or the kitchen. 

The cast. Damn, there's not a weak character up there. They are in a constant frenzy, and all deliver lines with perfect timing. Jeff Skowron as Wadsworth runs the show, he's the QB. And he is wonderful with numerous accents and snark. John Tracy Egan plays the kind of dimwitted Col. Mustard. His off the cuff lines sort of relating to what was just said is both weird and hilarious. Tari Kelly as the devious Mrs. White, who may or may not have killed her numerous husbands. Joanna Glushak as Mrs. Peacock, the wife of a Senator and prudish hypocrite. Jonathan Spivey as Professor Plum, the condescending professor of psychiatry. Christina Anthony as Miss Scarlet, the fast-talking madam. Elizabeth Yancey as Yvette, the sexy maid. Mariah Burks as The Cook, the cook. Then we have Alex Syiek and Teddy Trice playing various roles as need be.

But John Shartzer as Mr. Green, the secret gay guy shines. This guy can do physical humor as well as I've seen on stage. He falls, he limbos, he is like a Jim Carrey with a rubber body. He is amazing not to mention that he has perfect timing in his pratfalls. He got applause from the audience a lot.

This play is for anyone who needs a break from life. Its humor is dry AND crazy. It's both physical AND mental. It's clever AND stupid. The cast makes all this happen. It helps to know things about the board game, the movie AND what life was like in 1954 during the Red Scare. That knowledge just makes it funnier.

I put this play in the Expected Nothing And Got A Lot Category. I laughed a lot. It was fun.

January 6th!!

 4 years ago, I sat there working remotely, feeling good about the fact the worst POTUS of all time was on his way out, and then it happened. Trump gave a speech whining like the lil bitch he is about stolen elections and how HE was upset and for the crowd to go up to the Capitol to "fight like hell or you won't have a country left" and the gullible trash went up to the Capitol and began to beat Capitol police, break windows, invade the Congressional offices, invade the Senate chamber led by a nut in a horned hat and face paint, walk around sing songy looking for Nancy Pelosi, looking for Mike Pence to hang him from the pop up gallows assembled outside, take dumps in wastebaskets, smear their feces all over the walls, steal computers and podiums, ya know, touristy things. Trump had told them he'd go up there with them, then ran back to the White House to watch what he started joyfully. Typical Trump, all alligator mouth and hummingbird ass.

The day was despicable. Eventually, after Republican politicians like Josh Hawley (Pussy-Mo) and Ted Cruz (Scumbag-Tx) gave speeches about the "stolen" election, the election was certified, despite 177 Republican traitors in the House objecting to the process that had worked for 250 years because their cult leader demanded they do. Now I understand that many, maybe most, of those people were being blackmailed, lacked the courage to stand up to a bully, or just plain were frightened of the death threats and cult members being violent towards them or their families. Trumps a mob boss, we all know that, and his minions are barbarians that wouldn't think twice about killing Trumps enemies if he ordered them to, but that day, with the cop beating and the metaphor of beating people with flag poles, it was a fucking disgrace. Yet here we are. 

Americans have horrid memories; they are so easily manipulated by lies and bullshit pressed forward by news channels that paid damn near a billion dollars to a company for lying. Some Americans are so goddamned stupid they actually reboot their minds to factory set and believe that none of this happened. It really is amazing.

So, 4 years later, after this riot played out on television for all to see, a plurality of Americans voted for the scumbag because egg prices were too high, because they've been told the economy was awful, because they couldn't stomach a black woman in the Oval Office, because they are brainwashed baboons. Trump got 47% in 2020, and to just get 2 more percent from Latino men, black men and white women wasn't all that difficult. It happened. 

And to that I say fuck Trump AND anybody who voted for him.